Admiral Sir Edward Belcher
(1799-1877) of the British Royal Navy was one of
the most capable naval commanders of his era. He was a wise, generous, and
merciful man who was deeply devoted to the welfare of the men under his
leadership. Sir Edward Belcher was a
war hero, an explorer, a scientist, and a writer. He commanded a voyage around the
world and made significant contributions to geography, nautical surveying,
climatology, and other naval and scientific endeavors. Belcher's Arctic
expedition played a significant role in demonstrating the existence of the
fabled Northwest Passage. It is thus fitting that
several places on the globe are named for him, such as Belcher Point (Alaska),
the Belcher Islands (Hudson Bay), and Belcher Channel (in the Arctic). He was
honored by his country with two knighthoods, and was rewarded with the rank of
Admiral in Her Majesty’s Royal Navy.

Admiral Sir
Edward Belcher led a truly exciting life.
A great-grandson of Governor Jonathan Belcher (1682-1757), the colonial governor
of Massachusetts Bay, New Hampshire, and New Jersey, Sir Edward journeyed to
numerous and exotic places around the globe. Some of the places he visited were
Jamaica, Hawaii, Tahiti, China, Japan, Singapore, Alaska, Central America, South
America, Africa, Texas, and the Canadian Arctic, just to name a few.

Introduction

The nineteenth
century was an era of exploration and discovery. Great Britain was at a zenith
during the reign of Queen Victoria, having emerged triumphant from the
Napoleonic wars that previously had preoccupied the nation. Jem Belcher
(1781-1811), the Champion of England, had won his first major victory in the
prize ring in 1799, a year marked by the birth of Admiral Sir Edward Belcher,
who would shine as one of Great Britain’s foremost explorers.

The latter
1700's had seen explorations by Captain James Cook and George Vancouver, but
many regions of the earth still needed to be examined more thoroughly. There was
still much to search out, and among the foremost of the vital questions to be
settled were accurate explorations of the Pacific and the discovery of the
Northwest Passage, a route between the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean
whose existence somewhere in the Arctic was speculative, but if present, could
open up a sea route between Europe and the Far East. Answers to many of these
questions, as well as valuable scientific data, were provided by a voyager who
sailed both hemispheres of the earth — the northern and the southern — and
circumnavigated the globe with the dual purpose of upholding the security of his
country and advancing the world of science. That Marco Polo of his time was none
other than Admiral Sir Edward Belcher (1799-1877).

Before the
fictional Captain Horatio Hornblower sailed the Mediterranean and the South
Pacific in the pages of twentieth-century sea novels, Captain Edward Belcher had
explored Mediterranean and Pacific coastlines and numerous South Pacific
islands. In one story, Hornblower’s ships battled the ice, and Hornblower
visited Russian dignitaries at their northern military post. Likewise, the ships
commanded by Captain Belcher weaved a path through Arctic ice floes, and Edward
Belcher visited Russian officials at their Northwest Pacific stations.

The Hornblower
saga commenced chronologically with Mr. Midshipman Hornblower (1950) and
continued through Hornblower’s captaincy, his knighthood and peerage (he was
made a Knight of the Order of the Bath), and his eventual attainment of the rank
of admiral. Jem Belcher, the prizefighter, was mentioned in the final Hornblower
novel. Captain Edward Belcher, who was also a Knight of the Order of the Bath
and later an admiral, had a cousin, Captain Frederick Marryat, who wrote sea
adventures such as the well-known Mr. Midshipman Easy. In 1856, Captain
Belcher, himself an exceedingly intelligent writer, wrote and published a
three-volume novel about a young midshipman who rose to the position of captain
in His Majesty’s Navy. The name of that naval officer — and the title of the
novel — was Horatio Howard Brenton.

Interestingly, the
youthful C.S. Forester, who later authored the Hornblower novels, was befriended by a
Belcher family, and he later married their daughter. Thus, C.S. Forester's
wife was a Belcher.

Heritage and Early
Life

Edward Belcher
was born on February 27, 1799 in the British (later Canadian) province of Nova
Scotia, where his father Andrew Belcher (1763-1841) was a prominent member of
the Nova Scotia Council. This Andrew Belcher was the son of Chief
Justice Jonathan Belcher, Jr. (1710-1776), the first chief justice and a
lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia. Chief Justice Jonathan Belcher, Jr. was the
son of Governor Jonathan Belcher
(1682-1757), the American colonial governor of Massachusetts Bay, New Hampshire,
and New Jersey. Thus, Edward Belcher was the grandson of Chief Justice Jonathan
Belcher, Jr., and the great-grandson of Governor Jonathan Belcher of America.
Edward’s mother, Marianne (von Geyer) Belcher, came from a respected German
family.

Edward Belcher
embarked upon his naval career at the young age of thirteen by enlisting in 1812
as a first class volunteer in the British Royal Navy, at a time when his country
was engaged in war. Midshipman Edward Belcher was willing to fight for his
country, and he chose to enter the navy, for his Belcher ancestry had left him a
legacy of love for the sea. His great-great grandfather, Captain Andrew Belcher
(1648-1717), along with partners who included John Lloyd of London, had invested
in a fleet of merchant ships, among which were the Sarah, the William,
and the Eagle. Governor Jonathan Belcher, Edward’s great-grandfather,
also was interested in ships; his Belcher Wharf in Boston was adjacent to Long
Wharf, and he carried on his father’s shipping business. Thus, Edward
inherited Captain Andrew and Governor Jonathan Belcher’s command ability and
predilection for the sea, both necessary qualities in a good naval captain.

Governor
Belcher, in a letter to Jonathan Belcher, Jr., once referred to a Bible verse
containing the phrase "with all thy getting, get understanding"
(Proverbs 4:7). Edward Belcher presented this same verse in his novel Horatio
Howard Brenton, a verse which reinforced one of the novel’s major themes
— determination to try to do one’s best in every endeavor. Edward was a
naval officer who certainly fulfilled that ideal. His talents and scientific
curiosity made him an ideal captain and explorer, for he possessed ample
seamanship, high courage, a friendly nature, fortitude, and, as was the case
with General Douglas MacArthur (also of Belcher
heritage), a conscientious dedication to duty. Throughout his life, Edward also
showed a warm-hearted regard for the welfare of his shipmates and crew.

Edward Belcher’s
naval career began vigorously. After serving on the ships Abercromby and Salvador
del Mundo, he was assigned to the flagship Bellerophon sailing off
the coast of Newfoundland (in North America). In 1816, as a midshipman in His
Majesty’s Ship Superb, he took part in the Battle of Algiers, in which
a fleet comprised of British and Dutch ships joined forces and besieged Algiers,
the capital of the North African Islamic state of Algeria, in an effort to
suppress Barbary piracy. Years later, when he was writing his novel Horatio
Howard Brenton, Edward described Brenton, as well as the Superb, as
being present at the Battle of Algiers.

After the Battle
of Algiers, Edward Belcher sailed aboard the flagships Sybille and Salisbury
at Jamaica. He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant in 1818. At one point, he
studied languages and designed a number of intricate nautical devices. Among his
designs was a significant improvement to the station pointer, a navigational
protractor which uses horizontal sextant angles for fixing a ship’s position
in coastal waters on a chart. This instrument is useful in hydrographic
surveying, one of Edward Belcher’s main interests and a science for which he
demonstrated a great aptitude.

Scientist and
Explorer

Edward Belcher
was born just before the beginning of a century that brought an Age of
Exploration, when mankind’s discoveries pushed back farther the frontiers of
the ocean, just as man would in the next century explore space, the last
frontier. Edward lived in an exciting time for an adventurer such as he, when
one could, while sailing the oceans, still sight an unexplored island, an
uncharted channel, or an undelineated river. These he did, and more; his
transoceanic voyages extended to every quarter of the world.

Edward Belcher
was an officer in the Royal Navy, but he was an explorer and a scientist, too,
and his surveying voyages involved the collection of geological, astronomical,
meteorological, zoological, and botanical data. He was one of the first fellows
of the Royal Geographical Society. Edward envisioned and strongly advocated the
participation of surveyors in wartime strategies, and this idea received
recognition from nautical contemporaries. He was the author of a classic work, A
Treatise on Nautical Surveying (1835), which, during the middle part of the
nineteenth century, was adopted as the standard work on that nautical science.
His Treatise included a description of navigational instruments and a
section titled Hints to Travellers. He also edited Smyth’s Naval
Word Book (1867).

Edward was the
author of many scientific papers published in various journals, of which the
following are some examples: "Tide observations at Otaheite (Tahiti),"
Phil. Trans. (1843); "Notice of the Discovery of Ichthyosaurus and
other fossils in the late Arctic Searching Expedition, 1852-54," Brit.
Assoc. Rep. (1855); and "Remarks on the Glacial Movements noticed in
the vicinity of Mount St. Elias, on the north-west coast of America," Brit.
Assoc. Rep. (1861).

After 1820,
Lieutenant Edward Belcher visited the United States, investigated channels near
Bermuda, and served on the Nova Scotia station in the Salisbury. In 1825,
he sailed with Captain Frederick William Beechey in the H.M.S. Blossom on
a four-year historic exploration of the Pacific and Alaskan coasts, which
involved attempts to coordinate with the Arctic expeditions of Sir John Franklin
and Sir William E. Parry viathe Bering Strait. During the second attempt
to link up with Sir John Franklin’s expedition, in August 1827, Lieutenant
Edward Belcher commanded the Blossom’s decked boat, and beginning from
Kotzebue Sound, Alaska, explored 300-400 miles of Alaska’s coast between
Chamisso Island to beyond Icy Cape. (Captain Edward Belcher later would command
an expedition to search for Franklin, who became missing while on a later 1845
expedition to the Arctic.) While on the voyage with Beechey in the Blossom,
Edward Belcher, an expedition surveyor, made many important marine observations
and earned the praise of Captain Beechey, who noted Edward’s bravery and
compassion.

The Beechey
expedition explored and named many important features along the coast of Alaska,
such as Point Barrow (the United States’ most northern point). Among the
places the Blossom visited were Tahiti, Alaska, San Francisco
(California), Hawaii, and China. Another place the Beechey expedition visited
was Pitcairn Island in the South Pacific, the home of the surviving mutineer and
descendants of those who participated in the famous mutiny on the H.M.S.
Bounty. The story of this mutiny later was told by the novel Mutiny on
the Bounty (1932), a principal source for which was an earlier work, Mutineers
of the Bounty (1870), written by Lady Diana Belcher, who had married Sir
Edward Belcher on September 11, 1830. An Oscar-winning motion picture called Mutiny
on the Bounty, starring Clark Gable and Charles Laughton, was made in 1935.

Commander Belcher

Edward Belcher
was promoted to the rank of Commander in 1829, while he was on the flagship Southampton
in the East Indies. From 1830 to 1833, the Admiralty assigned him to the command
of the Aetna, a surveying vessel, which sailed to Africa’s west coast,
Portugal, and the Mediterranean. While in Portugal in 1832, Commander Belcher
completed a task about as delicate as Captain Horatio Hornblower’s
negotiations with the fictional dictator Don Julian. Commander Belcher, while
sailing the Douro River in Portugal, was to safeguard British interests during
the hostilities between Dom Pedro, Emperor of Brazil, and Pedro’s brother, Dom
Miguel, who had seized the throne of Portugal. Commander Belcher negotiated with
Miguel’s forces to obtain supplies. In 1833, Pedro, aided by England, France,
and Spain, returned the throne of Portugal to his daughter Queen Maria II. The
information that Commander Belcher discovered regarding the Douro River and the
Gambia River (in Africa) were incorporated into the Admiralty charts. In the
Mediterranean, Edward also determined new information about the Skerki Rocks.

Voyage Around the
World

In 1836, Edward
Belcher was appointed by the Admiralty to the command of the H.M.S. Sulphur
and the H.M.S. Starling, which resulted in his voyage around the world.
He distinguished himself highly while on this adventure, and consequently, he
became famous. Upon the voyage’s successful completion, he was honored with a
knighthood, and his published journal of the voyage was praised as being
exceedingly interesting. In his two-volume work titled Narrative of a Voyage
Round the World, Performed in Her Majesty’s Ship Sulphur During the Years
1836-1842, Including Details of the Naval Operations in China, From Dec. 1840 to
Nov. 1841 (1843), Edward Belcher described the Sulphur as weighing
380 tons, with a crew of 109 men.

Edward Belcher
was surveying the Lancashire coast when he received news of his appointment, and
after a journey interrupted by a hurricane, an encounter with hostile forces at
Carthagena, a visit to Governor La Barriere, and a canoe ride and a wearisome
trek overland across the Isthmus of Panama, Edward finally arrived at Panama,
where he was to take command of the Sulphur. (Incidentally, the fictional
Captain Horatio Hornblower once endured a harrowing ride on a canal boat in
order to reach and take command of one of his ships.)

After reaching
Libertad, Belcher’s expedition sailed for the Sandwich Islands (the Hawaiian
Islands). Along the way, tropic birds, medusae, and other marine organisms were
observed. A thorough scientist, Edward meticulously recorded the animals and
plants sighted, along with their scientific names.

Upon the Sulphur’s
arrival at Hawaii in 1837, Captain Edward Belcher met the Hawaiian king,
Kamehameha III. Since he previously had visited the region while on the voyage
of the Blossom, Edward knew some of the Pacific island residents and was
sincerely interested in understanding their culture. He did the same in the
other regions of the world which he visited, such as Malaysia, where he arranged
treaties with several Sultans; and Japan, to which he later journeyed while
commanding the H.M.S. Samarang, and where he was so liked by the Japanese
that they invited him to visit their homes and families if he ever returned.
(Previous to Edward’s visit, the Japanese typically had forbidden foreign
visitors from returning.) In later years, General Douglas MacArthur, also of
Belcher heritage, was viewed with similar esteem by the Japanese.

Unlike some
other naval officers of that time, Edward Belcher did not consider the Pacific
island people to be savages; instead, he treated them as fellow human beings,
allowed them to view the ship and his own cabin, and was in favor of letting
them live in peace. Views as compassionate as his are rare treasures.

After visiting
Hawaii, the ships turned northward toward the Alaskan coast. In August 1837, the
Sulphur reached Prince William Sound, Alaska. Off the coast of Alaska,
Captain Belcher’s expedition was visited by a party of Russians who invited
him to see their settlement and the houses of the Imperial Russian Fur Company,
which Edward Belcher described in detail in his narrative of the voyage. Also in
Alaska, Edward discovered an uncharted river and was fascinated by a ridge of
ice pyramids. In September, Captain Belcher determined the location of Mount St.
Elias, revised the longitudes delineated by Vancouver, and observed the famed
aurora borealis (the northern lights, created by the charged particles of the
solar wind striking the earth’s magnetic field.) The rest of the journey was
punctuated by further astronomical and meteorological observations.

The expedition
then proceeded to Sitka, Alaska, where they were warmly received by the Russian
governor, Captain Koupreanoff, who cooperated with Edward Belcher in the latter’s
search for an observatory site. The Sulphur was the first foreign warship
to visit the Alaskan capital, and Edward’s chronicles of his experiences at
Sitka, written at a time when Alaska belonged to Russia, are extremely valuable
historically. His account of a couple of other Russian stations is one of the
few still in existence.

In this polar
region — Alaska and the Arctic Ocean — Edward Belcher’s expertise as a
commander shone forth, and it is fitting that several geographical features were
named for him, including Belcher Point, named by Captain Beechey when he and
Edward Belcher surveyed the region in the Blossom, and located on
northwestern Alaska’s Arctic coast (at 70 degrees, 47.7 minutes North, 159
degrees, 39 minutes West) between Wainwright and Point Franklin. There is a
Belcher Channel in the Canadian Arctic.

After leaving
Sitka, the Belcher expedition visited Nootka Sound at Vancouver Island. Then the
Sulphur and the Starling sailed toward San Francisco, and Edward
Belcher conducted important surveys of the California coast. In October 1837, in
what proved to be one of the greatest feats of his career, he and his crew were
the first to explore the navigable extent of the Sacramento River, traveling the
river in boats for a distance of 156 miles — an incredible thirty-one days of
fortitude and discovery. In his published narrative of his voyage, Edward
described masses of beautiful wild grape vines hanging down from the trees to
the river. The Starling, a schooner of 109 tons, accompanied the
expedition up the Sacramento River for the first two days and thirty-six miles.
After that point, Captain Belcher and his men continued up the river in other
boats. The adventure was a tribute to the hardiness of Edward and his crew.

In his
narrative, Captain Edward Belcher observed that San Francisco, the Sacramento
River, and surrounding environs, possessed tremendous potential for development
by future American pioneers and entrepreneurs. At the time of Edward’s
exploration in 1837, few people lived in this area. Just a few years later, in
1848, gold was discovered near San Francisco, which brought a flood of new
settlers and prospectors. Edward Belcher’s observation proved to be prophetic,
as 1849 saw a gold rush and an influx of "Forty-Niners" in search of
gold.

In 1838, the Sulphur
visited numerous other places, including Acapulco (Mexico), Chinandega
(Nicaragua) and Realejo. In Nicaragua, Edward Belcher fixed the limits of the
Lake of Managua. His scientific curiosity led him to examine several volcanoes,
including the Volcano de Viejo, whose slopes Edward ascended on horseback. After
sleeping on stony ground at the foot of the volcano, Captain Belcher took a few
men and climbed through the lava rock towards the volcano’s peak, all the
while making measurements of the mountain’s elevation, climate zone
characteristics, and temperature readings, until they finally reached the
volcano’s three craters. Edward observed the volcano’s hot vapors, and noted
the soil temperature near the upper hot spring as about 196 degrees.

After
determining the position of Salinas Island and ordering a survey of the bay of
Salinas, the Belcher expedition headed towards South America. During the Sulphur’s
voyage, soundings (measurements of water depth by means of a lead line) were
taken, along with water temperature readings. In the summer of 1838, Captain
Edward Belcher explored the coast around Lima, Peru. Edward also spent an
exciting time at Guayaquil and Puna, in Ecuador, South America, where he
captured a twelve foot alligator by lassoing it with the boat’s lead line.
Edward Belcher, certainly adventurous, additionally possessed strategic insight.
While exploring the terrain of Central America, he recorded in his journal a
proposal for a canal that would connect the Atlantic with the Pacific.

After revisiting
Hawaii in the summer of 1839, the Belcher expedition then sailed for a second
pass along the Pacific coast of North America. In July, the Sulphur
reached Kodiak, Alaska, and then sailed for Sitka. After visiting Sitka, the Sulphur
sailed for the mouth of the Columbia River, which the expedition then navigated.
Captain Belcher visited the Hudson’s Bay Company at Fort Vancouver (near
present-day Portland, Oregon). After several stops along the California coast,
the Belcher expedition reached San Diego, California in October. Off the coast
of Baja California, Edward investigated a body of water that he called the Gulf
of Magdalena (Magdalena Bay).

In the spring of
1840, Belcher’s expedition reached Tahiti (an island popularized by the novel Mutiny
on the Bounty). There Captain Belcher visited Queen Pomare. After visiting
numerous South Pacific islands, the expedition arrived at Singapore in October
1840.

Captain Sir Edward Belcher, Naval Hero

Upon arriving at
Singapore, Captain Edward Belcher was plunged immediately into war operations
upon receiving orders from the Admiralty to join the British fleet fighting in
the Chinese conflict. As part of the naval force in the Canton River, Captain
Belcher played an outstanding and active part in the acquisition of Hong Kong,
the storming and cannonading of the forts of Boca Tigris, and the capture of
Canton, China.

During the
Chinese conflict, Captain Edward Belcher’s spirited accomplishments were
indeed remarkable. On January 7, 1841, he was involved in military operations
against the forts at Chuenpee, and he received orders to shell the enemy and
their war junks (Chinese ships), providing cover as the British troops landed.
Edward Belcher valiantly succeeded in defeating eleven war junks, including the
Chinese admiral’s vessel, thus nearly annihilating the Chinese fleet. The
bombardment was a great success, and Captain Belcher was highly praised by his
peers and commanding officers for his gallantry and brilliant exploits.

On January 26,
1841, Edward Belcher and his men were the first of the British fleet to land on
and take possession of Hong Kong for the British Crown. Edward also made a
survey of Hong Kong. In February 1841, the British squadron advanced to the
forts at Wangtong. Edward Belcher participated in the bombardment of the
Wangtong batteries. Following orders to assist the landing of the British troops
at Wangtong, Edward landed with the troops and gained possession of a pass
leading to one of the batteries. At the end of February, Edward assisted in the
capture and destruction of First Bar Fort, where the British blew up the
magazine and spiked the guns. At the same time, a Chinese ship was blown up,
resulting in a 300-foot mushroom-shaped flame.

On March 2,
1841, the Sulphur, accompanied by some boats from the Wellesley,
overwhelmed a Chinese masked battery of thirty-five guns. The Sulphur was
the leading ship in the siege made on the well-protected, granite, Chinese forts
of Howqua’s Folly and Napier’s Fort, of which Edward Belcher took
possession. At Howqua’s Folly, Edward bravely entered the fort through an
opening for one of the fort’s cannons. The Chinese fled, and Edward hoisted
the British flag. Similarly, at Napier’s Fort, Edward invaded the fort through
a gate out of which projected a huge cannon. Edward took possession of the fort
and chopped out a gap in a wooden bridge nearby so that the British ships could
pass through. Throughout the battles, Edward Belcher displayed a most admirable
valor which earned him the thanks of Commodore Sir J. Gordon Bremer. Edward was
also accompanied during the siege of Howqua’s Folly by Major-General Sir Hugh
Gough (1779-1869), the commander-in-chief of the British troops during the
Chinese conflict.

On March 13,
Edward captured a Chinese fast boat (war galley) near Macao Fort. Afterwards, he
surveyed a channel near Dane’s and French Islands which had never been
navigated by ships before. Edward took command of a division of boats and
navigated through this channel, Fatee Creek. Edward’s boats raced towards
Canton, China, chasing a Chinese fast boat. Edward and his men then captured
Shameen Fort and Rouge Fort, where Edward’s men destroyed the guns. Proceeding
to below Dutch Folly, Edward and his men destroyed all the guns of a masked sand
battery, and captured fourteen Chinese fast boats.

On May 6, 1841,
Edward Belcher was rewarded with a post-commission to the rank of captain. One
of the British fleet commanders, Sir Humphrey Senhouse, entrusted to Edward
Belcher the charge of an intricate and difficult mission — to advance ahead of
the fleet and navigate a course up the Canton River. Here, in the task of
negotiating the river for the fleet, Edward Belcher’s surveying experience
proved most valuable, and he boldly and diligently investigated inlets and
potential locations for ambush — any place that might prove hazardous for the
ships that were to follow. His navigation of the winding river, which included
important soundings, was heralded in England as a daring and skillful feat.

Prior to the
land force’s attack on Canton, in late May 1841 Edward Belcher made plans for
a reconnaissance mission. Part of his difficult task was to gather enough boats
to hold two thousand troops for a landing party and to investigate whether such
a landing was feasible. During the execution of the reconnaissance, Captain
Belcher encountered two flotillas of fast boats, and captured twenty-eight
vessels, including fifteen fast boats and five war junks. At Tsingpoo, Captain
Belcher’s men destroyed the enemy battery, and cast its guns into the sea.
(Similarly, the fictional Captain Horatio Hornblower stormed several French
batteries, including one where a landing party from his ship Sutherland
dismantled the battery and threw the guns over the cliff.)

Continuing his
reconnaissance, Edward Belcher ascended the masthead of a burning Chinese junk
and spotted the enemy camp. Edward then descended the mast, but before he had
moved one hundred yards from the junk, it exploded and sank. At the creek above
Fatee, he captured three more boats, including a salt vessel large enough to
transport an entire regiment, which Captain Belcher’s men promptly renamed
"Noah’s Ark." Captain Belcher then returned to report to Sir
Humphrey aboard the Blenheim, who was elated with the mission’s
success.

Following his
report to Sir Humphrey, Captain Belcher assisted in the loading of the troops
into the boats. He then moved the Sulphur to the temple of Tsingpoo,
where his men cleared out the temples for the troops to occupy. Sir Humphrey and
the troops then arrived, and moved to the location where Edward had spotted the
enemy camp. Finding that the enemy had retreated, Edward, Sir Humphrey, the
General, the other officers, and the troops, advanced with artillery. The
Chinese fired rockets at them. Escorting Captain Elliot, the plenipotentiary
(British ambassador), Edward Belcher bravely faced the sizeable battery of guns
at the walls of Canton, China, and successfully conveyed Elliot to Hill Fort.

Using two of the
Chinese’s six-pound guns, Edward shelled an enemy battery directly in front of
him that was firing on the British. As the British made ready to invade Canton,
the Chinese waved flags of truce, and Edward was among those sent to talk with
the enemy. Meanwhile, a truce between the British and the Chinese was agreed to
by Captain Elliot, the plenipotentiary, without the knowledge of Sir Humphrey
Senhouse or Captain Belcher. Sir Humphrey disagreed with the conditions of the
truce. Captain Elliot was later replaced as plenipotentiary by Sir Henry
Pottinger.

During the
course of the military operations, Captain Edward Belcher had been wounded in
the leg. During his recovery from the injury, Edward discovered that his friend
and commander, Sir Humphrey Senhouse, had died shortly after the truce was made.
Sir Humphrey was an officer whom Captain Belcher admired, and it has been said
that Edward’s ventures promoted Sir Humphrey’s success and the success of
Sir Hugh Gough, who likewise thanked Captain Belcher for his gallantry. The
esteemed Captain Belcher was made a Companion of the most Honorable Order of the
Bath (one of the oldest orders of English knighthood) on October 14, 1841, and
he concluded his voyage around the world in the H.M.S. Sulphur by
returning to England in July 1842. He was honored with a knighthood on January
21, 1843. He was now Captain Sir Edward Belcher, R.N., Kt., C.B. (Royal
Navy, Knight, Companion of the Bath). (On March 13, 1867 he was made K.C.B. —
a Knight Commander of the Bath — and thus he actually possessed two
knighthoods, both of which entitled him to use "Sir" before his name.)

Voyage of the H.M.S. Samarang

After completing
a secret mission to explore the Channel Islands (in the English Channel between
England and France) for the British government, Captain Sir Edward Belcher was
appointed to the command of the H.M.S. Samarang in 1842 for a five-year
survey of Japan and Southeast Asia. In 1844, Captain Belcher was seriously
wounded while successfully defeating the Illanon pirates at Gilolo Island. At
Labuan in Malaysia, Captain Belcher named the harbor "Port Victoria"
in honor of the Queen of England.

Captain Belcher
made friendships with a number of the Malayan inhabitants of Borneo. He made a
treaty of friendship between Great Britain and the Sultan of Gunung Taboor; he
became good friends with the chief of the Sagai tribe.

The Samarang
proceeded to explore many other regions, including the Korean Islands, Japan,
and the Philippines. Captain Sir Edward Belcher published his adventures in the
two-volume Narrative of the Voyage of the H.M.S. Samarang (1848).

Texas Colony

In 1850, Sir
Edward Belcher served as an agent for the Universal Emigration and Colonization
Company of England, which planned to establish a colony of English settlers in
Texas. Over 100 English colonists traveled in the ship John Garrow, which
sailed from Liverpool, England in September 1850. They arrived at Galveston,
Texas in October 1850, where they were met by Sir Edward Belcher. Leaving the
colonists at Cameron, Texas, Sir Edward went ahead of them and selected a site
for the colony’s settlement. The site Sir Edward selected was a beautiful and
fertile tract of 27,000 acres, which, as British agent for the Universal
Emigration and Colonization Company, he purchased from an agent acting on behalf
of Richard B. Kimball of Wall Street, New York City. Located in present-day
Bosque County, Texas, about fifty miles from Waco, this colorful and majestic
land had thirty miles of frontage along the Brazos River. Located within the
tract was the horseshoe-shaped Kimball’s bend with its fertile alluvial soil,
excellent for farming.

Sir Edward
supervised the surveying of the colony site by surveyors George B. Erath and
Neil McLennan. (There is now an Erath County, Texas, named for George B. Erath.
The present-day McLennan County, Texas was named for Neil McClennan.) Sir Edward
stayed until the colonists were well settled on the Kimball tract. Then, having
completed his assignment of site selection for the colony, Sir Edward left the
colony in the charge of its administrator and returned to England sometime
during the winter of 1850-1851. He was subsequently placed in command of an
expedition to the Canadian Arctic.

Arctic Explorer

After Captain
Sir Edward Belcher returned to England, in 1852 he was placed in command of five
vessels, aptly named the Pioneer, the Resolute,
the Assistance, the Intrepid, and the North Star, for the
performance of an Arctic expedition, the account of which Sir Edward related in
his two-volume work, The Last of the Arctic Voyages (1855). To him was
given the nearly impossible mission of searching for the missing ships commanded
by Sir John Franklin (1786-1847), who had sailed to the Canadian Arctic in 1845
in an attempt to find the Northwest Passage and had never returned. Numerous
expeditions were sent to look for Franklin over the next two decades, but few
definitive traces of his fate were found until the discovery of records from his
expedition revealed that he and his crew had perished after their ships had
become icebound in 1846.

Sir Edward
Belcher’s expedition sailed from England in the spring of 1852 and spent the
next two years scouring the Arctic for traces of Sir John Franklin and his men.
Belcher’s expedition made exhaustive searches to the north, east, and west,
but no evidence revealing the location of the lost Franklin expedition were
found in these areas. This, coupled with other intelligence he gathered, led Sir
Edward to the conclusion that Sir John Franklin’s fate would be found in the
southern parts of the Arctic. Sir Edward proved correct in this assessment, and
proof of the Franklin expedition’s unfortunate deaths to the south was later
discovered by another expedition.

In addition to
helping determine the whereabouts of Sir John Franklin and his men, Sir Edward
Belcher’s expedition made significant discoveries with regard to Canadian
Arctic geography, wildlife, and climatology. Numerous Arctic geographical
locations were explored and named by the Belcher expedition. Among these were
Barrow Bay, Northumberland Sound, Exmouth Island, North Cornwall, Princess Royal
Island, North Kent Island, Prince Edward’s Cape, Prince Albert’s Island,
Buckingham Island, Victoria Archipelago, and Cape Disraeli. Belcher Channel
(located below Cornwall Island) was named for Sir Edward Belcher, as were the
Belcher Islands (a group of large islands in the southern part of Hudson Bay).
There is a "Belcher Point" situated on Devon Island in the Canadian
Arctic.

With regards to
the climate and wildlife of the Arctic, Sir Edward made important observations.
He performed scientific experiments on the freezing of liquids, the depth of the
ice, and the effects of the extreme cold on instruments such as thermometers. He
also studied the formation, characteristics, and patterns of the Arctic ice
floes (frozen sheets of ice, sometimes acres wide, and typically several feet in
thickness). His analysis of the temperatures, barometric pressures, winds, and
weather patterns of the Arctic was extensive. His meteorological surveys
revealed a climate where temperatures could dip lower than fifty degrees below
zero, and where winters averaged twenty to thirty degrees below zero.

In addition to
being a natural leader and having a brilliant scientific mind, Sir Edward
Belcher was a kind, compassionate man deeply interested in the welfare of his
crew and others. He designed significant improvements for his ship which
rendered it much warmer, drier, and more comfortable for the crewmen. His
efforts to improve the ship included measures to reduce the condensation of
water vapor caused by cold air entering the interior of the ship. Prior to his
improvements, water vapor condensed inside the ship rendering it damp and moist,
which was unhealthy for the men. Sir Edward remedied this problem, as well as
the problem of poor air circulation. By using the ship’s pumps to circulate
air, the problem of stagnant air was solved. He also devised methods of
insulating the ship from the cold Arctic air, resulting in a warmer, more
comfortable, and healthier environment for the sailors. Sir Edward preserved
this knowledge in his narrative of his Arctic voyage, and also suggested an
improved design for building Arctic vessels.

Sir Edward and
his crew got along well, and he frequently praised them and considered them to
be among the finest sailors in the navy. His crew expressed their respect,
admiration, and loyalty to him repeatedly, and presented him with entertainments
such as plays and a musical concert. In return, Sir Edward conducted recreations
such as his "Loyal Circle of Arctic Engineers" which met to discuss
matters of naval and scientific interest. He also proposed topics (sometimes
humorous) for the crewmen to research, and awarded them medals for jobs well
done. Evening schools, where the crew were taught reading, writing, and
arithmetic, were also implemented.

On Christmas Day,
1852, the men from Sir Edward’s expedition pleasantly awoke Edward with music
and a Christmas song. They then wished him a Merry Christmas and a Happy New
Year. At noon, the festivities aboard Sir Edward’s ship began, and the crew
let out a loud cheer as Sir Edward told them what a good job they had done and
raised his glass to toast the Queen of England. Roast beef, plum pudding, mince
pies, and frosted cakes added to the Christmas good cheer. The officers and crew
thoroughly enjoyed their first Christmas in the Arctic, warm feelings felt among
all.

Sir Edward
Belcher was a wise, generous, and merciful man. Upon learning that many families
in Greenland were dying from starvation, Sir Edward donated provisions for their
relief. He believed that the Eskimos living in the Arctic regions were both
highly intelligent and resourceful. He was particularly impressed by the Eskimos’
skillful construction of their dwellings, which he found conducive to healthy
living conditions. His wisdom led him to advise his men against the overuse of
alcoholic beverages, advice which he himself followed. Throughout the
expedition, Sir Edward expressed his faith that God would protect him and his
men. He led the men in prayers and religious services.

Ice floes, which
could batter a ship to pieces, were one of the big dangers of Arctic voyages. It
was unlikely that a ship could withstand being "nipped" or hit by such
a floating mass of ice. According to Sir Edward Belcher’s calculations, the
floating weight of a floe measuring merely 300 square yards would be 63,080
tons; and one floe witnessed by Belcher extended as far as the eye could see. It
was doubtful that any ship could withstand such pressure exerted against it.

In fact, many
vessels were lost due to the treacherous and unpredictable Arctic ice. In 1852,
Sir Edward Belcher found the wreck of the Regalia, which had been sheared
completely through by the ice. In the same year, the ship M’Clellan was
crunched by the ice and sank. In 1853, a similar fate occurred when the Breadalbane
transport ship was lost to the ice’s treachery and sank in only fifteen
minutes. Sir Edward’s own ships were in danger of being caught in the clutches
of the ice many times, but escaped through Sir Edward’s skillful navigation.

The ice could
create tragic results. In one incident, a lieutenant named Bellot (from Captain
Inglefield’s expedition) fell through a crack in the ice and drowned. Certain
death likewise threatened members of another expedition under Commander M’Clure
in the Investigator, but just in time, M’Clure and his icebound crew
were rescued by members of the Belcher expedition, and the Investigator
was abandoned.

The winter of
1853-1854 was unusually severe. The temperature dropped at one point to
fifty-nine degrees below zero, and averaged thirty degrees below zero for the
months of November 1853 through March 1854. Few Arctic explorers prior to Sir
Edward Belcher had experienced such a severe winter, and Sir Edward speculated
that the temperatures may have been the lowest ever recorded by human beings.
However, thanks to Sir Edward’s improvements to the ship, his men were
comfortable throughout this harsh winter, with the temperatures inside the ship
infinitely more hospitable than the frigid outside air. Between the Christmas
and New Year’s holidays, the crew cheerfully sang songs. New Year’s Day,
1854, found the men aboard Sir Edward Belcher’s ships in good humor and of
good cheer.

Long expeditions
into the harsh Arctic climate, however, were not without their penalties. The
frigid winters, and resulting accumulation of ice, required a ship to fasten
down for "winter harbor." Thus, the crews had to deal with long
periods of confinement and inactivity (traveling was usually impractical in the
winter). Furthermore, the sun is not visible during the dark Arctic winters.
Because game was scarce in some areas, a crew might have to survive mainly on
preserved food. Even if hunting was successful, it might yield only walrus,
which some found distasteful. The resulting lack of adequate nutrients could
lead to the disease known as scurvy.

By 1854, several
of the men in the Belcher expedition were becoming ill. Sir Edward Belcher cared
very deeply for his men, and thus he knew it would be very difficult for them to
last another year in the Arctic. To the equal concern of Sir Edward, several of
the Investigator’s crew (which had been rescued by Belcher’s men in
1853) also were sick. Sir Edward was concerned about their welfare and was
determined to get them safely home to England as soon as possible. In his own
words, Sir Edward valued even one human life far greater than the value of
material objects like ships.

As matters stood
in early 1854, Sir Edward Belcher knew the following facts: first, that his
mission to search for Sir John Franklin had been completed — all the areas he
was ordered to search had been searched; second, that the missing men of the Investigator
had been rescued; third, that his instructions from the Admiralty anticipated
his return in 1854; and finally, that his crew (which had been in the Arctic for
two years) needed to be taken back to England for their own health and safety.
Added to this was the fact that fuel and food were running low, and might not
last another year.

Sir Edward
therefore made the intelligent and compassionate (for his crew’s sake)
decision to return to England in 1854 — a decision which the Admiralty agreed
with. The terrible winter of 1853-1854 had left four of the Belcher expedition’s
ships locked in the ice. Aided by blasting and a battering ram, Sir Edward was
successful in extricating two of them, but they were barred from further
progress by an ice pack. Reluctantly, and with sadness in his heart for their
loss, Sir Edward ordered his ships to be abandoned in accordance with the
Admiralty’s instructions.

Luckily for the
loyal crew who served under him, Sir Edward Belcher had the foresight to know
that it would be senseless to try to stay with the ships. First, his orders from
the Admiralty required the whole expedition to be withdrawn. Second, it was
unclear if the ships could ever be extricated from the ice. Third, the ships
quickly could be crunched by the ice in a matter of minutes, like the Breadalbane,
allowing little time to rescue any crew members. Finally, and most importantly,
he had sick men who needed to be taken back to England and it would be risking
all of the crew’s lives to try to save the ships.

The Admiralty
had placed in Sir Edward Belcher’s hands the safety of the entire expedition,
and he, above all, was compassionate enough to fulfill that order to save human
life. Sir Edward once said that he valued even one human life far greater than
the value of material objects like ships. Unlike so many vainglorious explorers
who risk all, including the lives of their crew, in a pursuit of glory, Sir
Edward sought only mercy and justice. For that decision, he deserves the highest
praise.

In the summer of
1854, the expedition thus departed for England in the North Star, in
accordance with the Admiralty’s instructions. Soon after they departed, they
encountered the Phoenix and the Talbot, two supply ships which
helped to transport the expedition back to England. The crew of the Belcher
expedition (along with Investigator’s rescued men) safely arrived in
England in September 1854. The Belcher expedition had successfully completed its
mission. The expedition had exhaustively searched the areas it was ordered to
search for Sir John Franklin and his men. Belcher’s expedition helped
determine that Sir John Franklin’s fate would likely be found to the south,
thus answering many questions about Franklin’s whereabouts. Furthermore, the
Belcher expedition explored thousands of miles of Arctic landscape and made many
contributions to Arctic geography and meteorology.

Northwest Passage

Having
demonstrated himself as an intelligent, compassionate, and capable Arctic
explorer, Sir Edward Belcher additionally helped to achieve a great goal which
navigators had been trying to complete ever since the 1400's. Since the voyages
of John Cabot, many explorers had dreamed of finding the fabled Northwest
Passage. Then, in 1853, a party from one of the ships under Sir Edward Belcher’s
command, while in the process of rescuing the Investigator’s crewmen
(part of the expedition commanded by Captain Richard Collinson), completed the
proof of the existence of the Northwest Passage. The Investigator already
had passed through the western part of the Northwest Passage, but had become
entrapped in a frozen bay and could go no farther; men from Sir Edward Belcher’s
expedition, sent to rescue the Investigator’s crew, came from the east
and completed the Passage’s eastern link. To Sir Edward’s expedition should
go the credit and praise of rescuing the Investigator’s men from
certain death from starvation in the ice that entrapped their ship.

Thus, the credit
for demonstrating the existence of the Northwest Passage should jointly be
shared by the commanders of the respective expeditions, Belcher and Collinson.
The Northwest Passage was now known to be not merely conjecture, but a tangible
passage, and Sir Edward Belcher’s expedition played a great role in
establishing its reality.

Admiral Belcher, Knight

On March 13,
1867, Sir Edward Belcher was made a Knight Commander of the Bath (K.C.B.), and
he was promoted to the rank of admiral on October 20, 1872. He died in London,
England on March 18, 1877, at the age of seventy-eight. He would be remembered
as one of his country’s greatest explorers. Admiral Sir Edward Belcher was one
of those commanders about whom, as in the case of General
Douglas MacArthur, no one could be neutral; his qualities were so
intelligent, compassionate, and sterling, that they sometimes inspired jealousy.
The adventurer Marco Polo traveled to places far distant from his homeland;
Admiral Belcher, too, voyaged all around the world. From lands of swamps,
mosquitos, and sweltering heat to lands of ice, tundra, and biting cold,
enduring numerous hardships such as Arctic ice and monsoons on the Indian Ocean,
the ships under the command of Sir Edward Belcher sailed on and on. And as they
sailed, a bird now called the Belcher Gull glided through the sky near the
shores of South America, encouraging us to soar, like him, ever onward.

Chronology of the Life of Admiral Sir Edward
Belcher

1799: Edward Belcher is
born on February 27 at Halifax, Nova Scotia. He is the son of Andrew
Belcher (1763-1841) and Marianne (von Geyer) Belcher.

1812: On April 9,
Edward enlists as a first class volunteer in the British Royal Navy at the
age of thirteen. He serves on board the Abercromby. In
December 2, Edward becomes a midshipman.

1814: In February,
Edward serves on board the Salvador del Mundo at Plymouth. In the
same year, Edward is assigned to the flagship Bellerophon sailing
off the coast of Newfoundland.

1815: In January,
Edward serves on board the Malta.

1816: Midshipman Edward
Belcher of the H.M.S. Superb takes part in the Battle of Algiers.

1818: Edward is
promoted to the rank of lieutenant. Prior to this he was assigned to the Sybille
and Salisbury at Jamaica.

1819: Edward serves on
board the Myrmidon.

1821: Edward serves on
board the Salisbury at Halifax, Nova Scotia.

1825: Lieutenant Edward
Belcher sails with Captain Frederick William Beechey in the H.M.S.
Blossom on a four-year historic exploration of the Pacific and Alaskan
coasts. Edward is Assistant Surveyor for the expedition. In
December, the Beechey expedition visits Pitcairn Island in the South
Pacific, the home of the surviving mutineer and descendants of those who
participated in the famous mutiny on the H.M.S. Bounty.

1827: During the
Beechey expedition’s second attempt to link up with Sir John Franklin’s
expedition, in August, Lieutenant Edward Belcher commands a decked boat
from the Blossom, and beginning from Kotzebue Sound, Alaska,
explores 300-400 miles of Alaska’s coast between Chamisso Island to
beyond Icy Cape.

1829: Edward is
promoted to the rank of Commander on March 16, while he is on the flagship
Southampton in the East Indies.

1830: On September 11,
Edward Belcher marries Diana Jolliffe.

From 1830 to 1833, Edward
Belcher commands the Aetna, which sails to Africa’s west coast,
Portugal, and the Mediterranean.

1832: While sailing the
Douro River in Portugal, Edward safeguards British interests during the
hostilities between Dom Pedro, Emperor of Brazil, and Pedro’s brother,
Dom Miguel, who has seized the throne of Portugal. Edward negotiates with
Miguel’s forces to obtain supplies.

1835: Edward Belcher
publishes A Treatise on Nautical Surveying.

1836: Edward Belcher is
appointed by the Admiralty to the command of the H.M.S. Sulphur and
the H.M.S. Starling, which results in a voyage around the world
that lasts until 1842.

1837: After the Sulphur
arrives at Hawaii, Captain Edward Belcher meets the Hawaiian king,
Kamehameha III. In August, the Sulphur reaches Prince William
Sound, Alaska, where a party of Russians invites Edward to see their
settlement and the houses of the Imperial Russian Fur Company. (At this
time period, Alaska belongs to Russia.)

1837: In September,
Edward determines the location of Mount St. Elias, and revises the
longitudes delineated by Vancouver. The Sulphur then sails for
Sitka, Alaska, where Edward is warmly received by the Russian governor,
Captain Koupreanoff. The Sulphur is the first foreign warship to
visit the Alaskan capital. In October, the Sulphur visits
Nootka Sound (at Vancouver Island). After this, the Sulphur sails
south to California, where Edward and his crew become the first to explore
the navigable extent of the Sacramento River in California.

1838: In January,
Edward’s expedition reaches Acapulco, Mexico. In February, Edward
examines the Volcano de Viejo in Nicaragua, whose slopes he ascends on
horseback. He also visits Chinandega (Nicaragua), Realejo, and fixes the
limits of the Lake of Managua (Nicaragua). Edward then determines the
position of Salinas Island and orders a survey of the bay of Salinas.

In October, Edward’s
expedition explores Guayaquil and Puna, in Ecuador, South America. The
expedition then returns to Panama. In
December, Edward
devises a plan for a canal in Central America that would connect the
Atlantic with the Pacific.

1839: Belcher’s
expedition stops at Hawaii in June; Edward visits the Hawaiian king. The
expedition then sails for a second pass along the Pacific coast of North
America. In July, the Sulphur reaches Kodiak, Alaska, and
then sails for Sitka, Alaska. After visiting Sitka, the Sulphur
sails for the mouth of the Columbia River. The expedition then navigates
the Columbia River, and visits the Hudson’s Bay Company at Fort
Vancouver (near present-day Portland, Oregon). In October, after
several stops along the California coast, the Sulphur reaches San
Diego, California. In November, off the coast of Baja California,
Edward investigates a body of water that he calls the Gulf of Magdalena
(Magdalena Bay).

1840: In the spring,
Captain Edward Belcher’s expedition visits Tahiti (an island popularized
by the novel Mutiny on the Bounty), where he visits Queen Pomare.
After visiting numerous South Pacific islands, Belcher’s expedition
arrives at Singapore in October. Upon his arrival at Singapore, Captain
Edward Belcher receives orders to join the British fleet fighting in the
Chinese conflict.

1841: During the
Chinese conflict, Captain Belcher plays an outstanding and active part in
the acquisition of Hong Kong, the storming and cannonading of enemy forts,
and the capture of Canton, China. On January 26, Edward Belcher and
his men are the first of the British fleet to land on and take possession
of Hong Kong for the British Crown. On March 2, the Sulphur,
accompanied by some boats from the Wellesley, overwhelms a Chinese
masked battery of thirty-five guns. In May, Edward advances ahead of
the fleet and navigates a course up the Canton River, investigating any
places that might prove hazardous for ships that follow. On May 6,
Edward Belcher is rewarded with a post-commission to the rank of captain.
Later in May, Captain Belcher executes a reconnaissance mission, during
which he captures many enemy boats.

On
October 14, the esteemed Captain Belcher is made a Companion of the most
Honorable Order of the Bath (one of the oldest orders of English
knighthood).

1842: In July, Captain
Edward Belcher returns to England, concluding his voyage around the
world. Captain Edward Belcher is appointed to the command of the H.M.S.
Samarang for a five-year survey of Japan and Southeast Asia.

1843: On January 21,
Edward is honored with a knighthood.

Edward publishes his
two-volume Narrative of a Voyage Round the World, Performed in Her
Majesty’s Ship Sulphur During the Years 1836-1842, Including Details of
the Naval Operations in China, From Dec. 1840 to Nov. 1841.

1845: In January,
Edward makes a treaty of friendship between Great Britain and the Sultan
of Gunung Taboor.

The Belcher expedition visits
Japan.

1847: In January, the Samarang
arrives at Chatham, England. This marks the end of the Samarang
adventure.

1848: Sir Edward
Belcher publishes his two-volume Narrative of the Voyage of the H.M.S.
Samarang.

1850: Sir Edward
Belcher, as agent for the Universal Emigration and Colonization Company of
England, buys 27,000 acres of land at Kimball’s bend on the Brazos
River, Texas, for the establishment of a colony of English settlers.
Having completed his assignment of site selection for the colony, and
leaving the colony in the charge of its administrator, Sir Edward then
returns to England.

1852: Captain Sir
Edward Belcher is placed in command of five vessels, named the Pioneer,
the Resolute, the Assistance, the Intrepid, and the North
Star, for the performance of an Arctic search for the missing Sir John
Franklin expedition. The Belcher expedition sails from England in
the spring, and spends the next two years scouring the Arctic for traces
of Sir John Franklin and his men.

1853: The ice-bound
crew of the Investigator from the Collinson expedition are rescued
by members of the Belcher expedition. This meeting between these two
expeditions completes the proof of the existence of the Northwest Passage.

1854: The Belcher
expedition returns to England pursuant to the Admiralty’s instructions.
The expedition has made significant discoveries with regard to Canadian
Arctic geography, wildlife, and climatology, and has helped determine the
whereabouts of the Franklin expedition.

1855: Captain Sir
Edward Belcher publishes his two-volume work, The Last of the Arctic
Voyages.